MLB Daily Grind Down: Wednesday, August 28th Part 2
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NY Yankees vs. Toronto
| 7:07 PM | NY Yankees – ROAD | Toronto – HOME | |||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| TEAM BATTING | AVG | OPS | K% | FPAB | AVG | OPS | K% | FPAB | |
| SEASON | 0.246 | 0.685 | 19.40% | 0.55 | 0.252 | 0.733 | 18.00% | 0.62 | |
| VS. LEFT/RIGHT | 0.244 | 0.687 | 19.70% | 0.41 | 0.255 | 0.748 | 17.90% | 0.50 | |
| SP STATS | Kuroda – RHP | Redmond – RHP | |||||||
| WHIP | ERA | K/9 | FPPG | WHIP | ERA | K/9 | FPPG | ||
| SEASON | 1.08 | 2.71 | 6.45 | 10.73 | 1.28 | 4.44 | 9.74 | 7.02 | |
| LAST 14 DAYS | 1.30 | 4.58 | 7.50 | 9.73 | 1.55 | 4.91 | 9.51 | 7.07 | |
| BATTER SPLITS | Note: Batter Splits Below Open in Pop Up Window | ||||||||
NYY vs R  | NYY BvP | TOR vs R | TOR BvP | ||||||
What Vegas Says
- Over/Under Total Runs – 8.5
- Favored Team – NYY -140
Pitcher Grind Down
TOR – Todd Redmond has been very good at home this season with a 2.16 ERA and more K’s than innings pitched. The problem is that the sample size is only 4 games and when you look at his road ERA of 7.06, you expect Redmond’s home numbers to eventually fall off. Tonight he faces a Yankees team that is in must need of wins. I don’t think it ends well for Redmond tonight. Rating = 3
NYY – Hiroki Kuroda can be taken for a bit cheaper than usual thanks to his last 2 starts in which he has given up a combined 10 earned runs. I think he has a favorable matchup tonight though, when you look at that Blue Jays lineup, they have 3-4 big names and then the rest of the lineup is filled with AAA guys. Rating = 7
Batter Grind Down
TOR – I’m not a very big fan of the Blue Jays tonight, but Jose Reyes has had success against Kuroda in the past going 7/15 with 3 XBH’s. The rest of the team is slumping.
NYY – The Yankees caught a break last night as X-Rays on Cano’s hand came back negative. I would imagine that he will be sitting tonight’s game out though. For the Yankees, I like the lefty/righty matchup for Brett Gardner and I really like Alfonso Soriano, he just keeps raking.
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LA Angels vs. Tampa Bay
| 7:10 PM | LA Angels – ROAD | Tampa Bay – HOME | |||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| TEAM BATTING | AVG | OPS | K% | FPAB | AVG | OPS | K% | FPAB | |
| SEASON | 0.263 | 0.743 | 18.90% | 0.61 | 0.262 | 0.748 | 18.70% | 0.62 | |
| VS. LEFT/RIGHT | 0.270 | 0.753 | 18.80% | 0.48 | 0.253 | 0.739 | 18.70% | 0.49 | |
| SP STATS | Richards – RHP | Archer – RHP | |||||||
| WHIP | ERA | K/9 | FPPG | WHIP | ERA | K/9 | FPPG | ||
| SEASON | 1.24 | 3.95 | 6.31 | 3.78 | 1.09 | 2.93 | 6.25 | 9.88 | |
| LAST 14 DAYS | 1.23 | 2.95 | 5.97 | 10.70 | 1.05 | 3.79 | 6.63 | 9.67 | |
| BATTER SPLITS | Note: Batter Splits Below Open in Pop Up Window | ||||||||
| LAA vs R | LAA BvP | TBR vs R | TBR BvP | ||||||
What Vegas Says
- Over/Under Total Runs – 7.5
- Favored Team – TB -175
Pitcher Grind Down
TB – Chris Archer has been great for the Rays this season. He has a 2.93 ERA and an even more impressive 1.09 WHIP. He’s shown that he can pitch well against good teams and I think this is a great spot for him against the Angels who are very shorthanded. Archer’s one problem has been against left hand bats, but if he can pitch around Josh Hamilton he should be fine. Rating = 8
LAA – Garrett Richards is an average pitcher whose name only pops up when he is facing a team like the Astros. There is not much upside taking him on the road against a tough Rays lineup. Rating = 2
Batter Grind Down
TB – After just saying that it’s an easy decision to avoid Richards tonight, I’m having a tough time finding any Rays bats that I really like. Evan Longoria has been swinging a hot bat and Wil Myers is underpriced on a few sites, but other than that nothing is standing out.
LAA – I am not a fan of the Angels right now, they don’t really have anything to play for and they just haven’t been able to put it together all season. Archer struggles a bit against lefties, but not enough that Josh Hamilton is a must play or anything.
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Cleveland vs. Atlanta
| 7:10 PM | Cleveland – ROAD | Atlanta – HOME | |||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| TEAM BATTING | AVG | OPS | K% | FPAB | AVG | OPS | K% | FPAB | |
| SEASON | 0.253 | 0.732 | 21.10% | 0.63 | 0.252 | 0.731 | 22.40% | 0.59 | |
| VS. LEFT/RIGHT | 0.263 | 0.751 | 19.90% | 0.49 | 0.253 | 0.737 | 22.60% | 0.48 | |
| SP STATS | Masterson – RHP | Maholm – LHP | |||||||
| WHIP | ERA | K/9 | FPPG | WHIP | ERA | K/9 | FPPG | ||
| SEASON | 1.20 | 3.50 | 9.00 | 12.93 | 1.40 | 4.51 | 6.28 | 8.72 | |
| LAST 14 DAYS | 1.59 | 3.86 | 7.91 | 10.07 | 1.57 | 6.75 | 7.06 | 5.10 | |
| BATTER SPLITS | Note: Batter Splits Below Open in Pop Up Window | ||||||||
| CLE vs L | CLE BvP | ATL vs R | ATL BvP | ||||||
What Vegas Says
- Over/Under Total Runs – 7.5
- Favored Team – Pick ‘Em
Pitcher Grind Down
ATL – Paul Maholm has really struggled since coming back from his injury. In his last 4 starts, he has an ERA over 9 and has lasted an average of less than 5 innings in those starts. Even though he is a much better pitcher at home, I think it’s hard to trust him at this point. Rating = 4
CLE – Justin Masterson has much better splits at home, but I think he is still in play tonight against the Braves. The Braves offense hasn’t found as much success without Jason Heyward in the lineup. Masterson has a very nice K rate of 9 per 9 innings and the Braves are at the top of the league when it comes to number of strikeouts. Rating = 7
Batter Grind Down
ATL – Freddie Freeman and Brian McCann should be the only two Braves bats on your radar tonight. Masterson’s biggest problem is against lefties so both of them are in a decent spot.
CLE – Maholm has really struggled lately and is giving up a .297 batting average to righties on the season. Carlos Santana and Asdrubal Cabrera are both good from the right side of the plate and make decent plays.
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Baltimore vs. Boston
| 7:10 PM | Baltimore – ROAD | Boston – HOME | |||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| TEAM BATTING | AVG | OPS | K% | FPAB | AVG | OPS | K% | FPAB | |
| SEASON | 0.264 | 0.755 | 18.10% | 0.63 | 0.273 | 0.780 | 20.40% | 0.68 | |
| VS. LEFT/RIGHT | 0.271 | 0.777 | 17.70% | 0.53 | 0.282 | 0.807 | 20.20% | 0.56 | |
| SP STATS | Norris – RHP | Lackey – RHP | |||||||
| WHIP | ERA | K/9 | FPPG | WHIP | ERA | K/9 | FPPG | ||
| SEASON | 1.48 | 4.22 | 6.93 | 8.71 | 1.18 | 3.17 | 7.95 | 11.18 | |
| LAST 14 DAYS | 2.30 | 8.04 | 8.88 | 5.05 | 0.99 | 2.91 | 5.09 | 10.07 | |
| BATTER SPLITS | Note: Batter Splits Below Open in Pop Up Window | ||||||||
| BAL vs R | BAL BvP | BOS vs R | BOS BvP | ||||||
What Vegas Says
- Over/Under Total Runs – 9.5
- Favored Team – BOS -180
Pitcher Grind Down
BOS – John Lackey has had a great season, especially when you look at his numbers in Fenway. This season, he has a 2.07 ERA and a 1.10 WHIP at home. That being said, it’s tough to take him against an offense like the Orioles. I think Lackey will pitch well, but one or two bad pitches could come back to haunt him. Rating = 6
BAL – Bud Norris is a guy that everyone likes to pick on when he is on the road. This season he has a 5.33 ERA on the road while giving up a .298 batting average. Vegas really like Boston in this one and I do too. Rating = 2
Batter Grind Down
BOS – Hopefully you read yesterday’s Grind Down and played the three Red Sox that I recommended. Victorino, Pedroia, and Napoli all had monster games. Today I am going to recommend three Red Sox again: Jacoby Ellsbury, David Ortiz, and Mike Napoli. All three of these guys are great from the left side and should feast on Norris who is giving up an OPS of .891 to left hand hitters.
BAL – The Orioles are a very tough lineup, but Lackey has been really good at home. Something has to give here. My advice is to just avoid both that way you don’t get stuck making the wrong decision.
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Philadelphia vs. NY Mets
| 7:10 PM | Philadelphia – ROAD | NY Mets – HOME | |||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| TEAM BATTING | AVG | OPS | K% | FPAB | AVG | OPS | K% | FPAB | |
| SEASON | 0.248 | 0.694 | 19.90% | 0.52 | 0.239 | 0.683 | 22.20% | 0.54 | |
| VS. LEFT/RIGHT | 0.254 | 0.702 | 19.60% | 0.41 | 0.245 | 0.693 | 22.60% | 0.41 | |
| SP STATS | Hamels – LHP | Matsuzaka – RHP | |||||||
| WHIP | ERA | K/9 | FPPG | WHIP | ERA | K/9 | FPPG | ||
| SEASON | 1.18 | 3.62 | 7.94 | 10.56 | 1.40 | 9.00 | 7.20 | 4.00 | |
| LAST 14 DAYS | 0.91 | 2.35 | 8.22 | 14.00 | 1.40 | 9.00 | 7.20 | 4.00 | |
| BATTER SPLITS | Note: Batter Splits Below Open in Pop Up Window | ||||||||
| PHI vs R | PHI BvP | NYM vs L | NYM BvP | ||||||
What Vegas Says
- Over/Under Total Runs – 7.5
- Favored Team – PHI -155
Pitcher Grind Down
NYM – To his credit, Daisuke Matsuzaka last longer than I though he would in his first start this season. While he still gave up 5 runs, he did manage to last 5 innings. I don’t think that he is a long-term solution for the Mets and I am having a hard time wondering why the Phillies aren’t even bigger favorites tonight. Vegas has more faith in Dick-K than I do. Rating = 3
PHI – Cole Hamels is one of my favorite plays at pitcher tonight. Not only does he get to face the Mets in Citi Field where they are only batting .224 this season, but he is a lefty and two of the Mets best three hitters right now are left handed. I think Hamels is in for a big night. Rating = 9
Batter Grind Down
NYM – If you don’t like Hamels, Juan Lagares and Marlon Byrd are good against lefties, but do you really want Mets on your team?
PHI – I think the Phillies by themselves could cover this total. Chase Utley, Domonic Brown, and Darin Ruf will all be in my lineups throughout the various sites tonight.
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